Amy's Choice
by Allybalybee
Summary: Amy continues to look for clues in the prison where she is being held captive. In the aftermath of Club Rouge's destruction Sonic ponders on the whereabouts of his friend and receives some surprise guests!
1. Tarot Cards and Predictions

Amy's Choice

Chapter One - Tarot Cards and Predictions

It was a warm sunny morning outside Amy Rose's bedroom window. The sky was blue, the children were playing and the birds were in full song. In all it was a beautiful day but Miss Rose, paid no attention to the quaint scene. She had no intention of leaving her house until an important task had been completed, until she had answered her most vital questions and discovered the day's secrets.

She placed the pack of tarot cards before her and smiled. It was like greeting an old friend who she hadn't spoken to in a long time. Since the cards had guided her to the miracle planet and her very first meeting with Sonic, she had completely forgotten about them. They had remained in the purple silk string bag under her bed for months.

She dusted off the white box decorated with a single red rose in the centre and two large arches in red and blue surrounding it. The cards rattled pleasantly inside as she shook them and finally flipped open the lid. She let the cards fall into her open palm, feeling their weight. Flexing the cards back and forth she focused on the shuffling. The cards were quite big and she'd always had difficulty moving them around with her small hands. She slid the cards over the top of one another, separated, patted and twisted the pack into shape, jumbling them thoroughly.

When content she plucked seven cards from the pack and spread them across the floor in a horse shoe arrangement. Now she was finally ready to begin. Turning over the first card revealed a light blue background with seven goblets standing in a row,

"The Seven of Cups," she read out loud, "an important decision has to be made; however, there are many options to choose from. Make your decision carefully, for all is not as it seems hmm."

This was a pretty standard card, open to all sorts of interpretation. She couldn't hide her disappointment she had expected something more specific, but there were still six cards left. Plenty of clues still left to be found, she flipped over the next card.

This was the Page of Pentacles describing usually a conscientious person, thrifty and capable. Someone who had little money but splendid prospects - a student with a sense of duty. The image of a certain two tailed fox crept into Amy's mind. So she was to bump into Tails today? Yet again nothing out of the ordinary so on she went to the next card.

The next card depicted two swords crossed over - the meaning?

"A friendship at a time of adversity. An ally upon whom you can depend," Amy paid this card a little more attention, "… a decision has to be made logically, but there are no clues as to which direction to take. A balance between two equally matched opponents. A duel."

She felt the need to be slightly cautious, a duel with Eggman wasn't anything special. Sonic and Eggman had been sworn enemies and fighting duels for many years. The dependable ally business was intriguing so she decided to turn over another card. This time the card showed a woman opening a lion's mouth! The background was dark green. The woman looked fearlessly down the lion's throat, her hands with a firm grip around its neck.

"Strength, physical strength, courage defeating mean attitudes and hatred," She shrugged turning to the next card. "The Knight of Wands; an energetic warrior, he has a hasty personality and is quick to love or hate?" She laughed out loud there was only one echidna that could fit that description so very well.

Two cards remained and so far she knew that she could possibly be meeting Knuckles and Tails today probably having a fight with Eggman and using their strength to defeat him. Amy began to wonder if she was out of touch. Her busy life as a freedom fighter hadn't left much room for practise. Perhaps it would be best if she quit the tarot for good.

The second to last card showed a tall dark haired young man. Amy instantly took notice she knew this card _very_ well. She had first seen it the day she met Sonic for the first time in person. She grinned broadly whilst reading,

"The Knight of Swords, an eloquent and confident person who is fast-moving and easily bored. He can be impetuous and is the type who breezes into one's life and then just as swiftly breezes out again." She sighed how very true it was.

This was enough to bring Amy to her feet. Sonic was going into battle with Eggman and since Tails and Knuckles would be around for the action she had the sudden urge to be there too. She hauled open the door and ran outside into the bright sunshine. As the door slammed shut behind her the cards scattered around the room. The gust of air had also flipped over the final card leaving it abandoned and unread in the centre of the carpet.

* * *

Meanwhile the Knight of Swords sorry, Sonic the Hedgehog was busy doing what he loved above all else, running as fast as he could. The Green Hill, Marble and Spring Yard Zones whizzed by in a single blur. He could make the full Mobian tour in roughly half an hour, every nook and cranny in _every_ zone. Over the years Sonic had discovered the planet's landmass seemed to be expanding. There was always somewhere new to explore and Eggman had the extremely fortunate talent of finding new places for his operations. Eggman had Sonic to stop his plans and Sonic had Eggman to find new running tracks what a fantastic relationship!

He felt the wind rushing against his face and washing over his streamlined quills. He pounded his feet into the ground, forcing himself to travel faster until the familiar sound of a sonic boom exploded in his ears. Waterfalls, trees, houses and people disappeared from view. Sonic wanted a harder workout so he headed for the beach keeping as comfortably away from the water as possible. He leapt from one sand dune to another whipping the sand into a storm and smothering the outraged sun bathers on the beach.

"SORRY!" He tried to shout back but the wind was snatching away his breath.

He slowed down a little to write his name in the sand with his feet, he stopped to admire his work and then laughed with delight.

He took off again this time towards the Emerald Hill Zone, he wanted some loops to spin around. Curling into a ball he spun around the large structure several times before letting himself take off towards the skies. He opened out and manoeuvred himself towards the course of Mobius strips lined up in a row. Like a corkscrew he followed the path around and around, twisting and turning.

Next to Leaf Storm for some trick practise Sonic wasn't even feeling slightly tired. He jumped onto the vines and tried some new moves to add to his break dance routine.

Some robots he'd left behind on a previous visit joined him on the vine sliding down a steep slope. They fired homing missiles towards the hedgehog. Rather than worry Sonic winked at them and performed a series of astounding not to say reckless acrobatics to keep from harm's way. He somersaulted backwards over the robot's heads and landed on the vine perfectly. He maintained his balance and accelerated towards them. The robots turned aware that the homing missiles were still behind their target but were now actually heading for them as well!

Sonic fell from the vine with the explosion blasting behind him. He grabbed onto the nearby star gimmick that had once led to the special zone. He had been falling with such speed that he thought the gimmick was never going to stop spinning around. This was worse than the waltzes at the Mobian Summer Fair he felt a little sick now. When the handle came to a stop he opened one eye and looked about him. The ground was mere inches below him he grinned slightly embarrassed and let himself drop.

He was feeling quite hungry now and so decided to rejoin slow civilization for a hotdog and fries. Just before he was about to speed away he heard rumbling coming from above. It sounded like the propellers of a plane, Sonic squinted to look further into the distance and sure enough a black dot at 12.00 was growing increasingly larger. He saw the blue bodywork and the words 'Tornado' painted along the side. As the plane swooped lower Sonic spotted Tails making frantic hand gestures to climb aboard. He did so with a running leap and held on tight to the left wing.

"We've had a broken transmission from the floating island!" Amy suddenly piped up she'd concealed herself in the backseat before Tails had taken off. Since the tarot cards had mentioned Tails first she had started her search for Sonic there.

"It was definitely Knuckles on the other end of the radio Sonic," Tails explained, "but it kept breaking up! I heard the word help mentioned at least twice and the master emerald but I've no idea what's going on up there. I thought you might want to take a look."

"Read my mind buddy. We better check on chuckles just in case and at the same time we can have a race around the floating island. This is going to be great!"


	2. Crash Landing

Chapter Two

Crash Landing! 

The Tornado took to the air with Tails in the cockpit and Amy as passenger. Sonic as usual was tempting death by wing walking on top, with no safety supports. The skies were calm with few clouds spoiling the view and so Tails, took the time to look at the world below. He spotted the Green Hill Zone immediately, a tropical paradise in a collage of green and brown chequered hills. It was a playground of waterfalls, palm trees, rope bridges, tunnels and not forgetting the famous 360 degree loops.

A little further on and the scene changed to the Oil Ocean Zone. Tails hated the place. It was a constant reminder of the destruction Eggman was capable of and their failure to protect it. It would never change back to how it used to be - too much had been done.

To begin with the zone was surrounded by an orange toxic hazy fog. The Ozone layer had been permanently damaged. The sun's rays baked the metal oil rigs and crumbling orange and pink platforms with intense heat. Possibly the worst thing of all was the stain of thick black and blue oil smeared across the landscape. Where a clear blue river should have been flowing, was a smothering blanket of pollution and vile chemical deposits.

Attached to the plane was another mechanism that held the booster rockets. In case they needed a little more height these 'little angels' as Tails called them were vital if they wanted to reach the floating island, high above the other zones of Mobius. He could hear foot tapping above and smiled. The Tornado was fast, but not fast enough for Sonic. Unfortunately the hedgehog would have to wait until the island was in sight. The plucky youngster laughed softly - in the Tornado he was king!

The biplane had been modified significantly over the years with colour changes, experimentation with power supplies and even the overall design had been tinkered with. Back when Tails had first met Sonic, the Tornado had been a very basic model knocked up quickly due to Eggman's return. Having fought through three long rounds of the Metropolis Zone and a bubble Eggomatic, Sonic could only scowl as Eggman took off towards the Wing Fortress. Without the small plane to give him a lift Sonic's second adventure would have been a huge anti-climax.

Tails remembered clearly how the Nebulas, Turtloids and fast Balkiry badniks had swooped and fired pellets at the plane. The Sky Chase Zone had been a nightmare, the onslaught of badniks had been tough enough but then for Eggman to start firing laser beams, was overkill. The Tornado had been hit knocking one of the main engines. The fox had watched as Sonic leapt onto the Flying Fortress and disappeared. Seconds later he had found himself going into a spectacular nose dive as the other engine decided to stall. It had been a pretty hairy moment he recalled, pulling the control stick upwards whilst watching the world spiral around him.

In the end he was lucky, the engine at the last possible second had spluttered into life and he had managed to land the plane safely and intact. His work however, was not complete at that point. Fixing the engine and fitting booster rockets had been the next important task. Tails could still see himself filled with panic trying desperately to get the necessary repairs finished in time. Only he could have taken off and reached the Wing Fortress just at the crucial moment, as Eggman was escaping into space. Using the booster rockets they managed to catch up. Sonic had grabbed onto the shuttle and survived the journey to the Death Egg, were he finally stopped Eggman.

Tails had committed to memory the whole exciting day every last moment. The Tornado had served him well and helped to put a stop to Eggman's plans. He stroked the left side fondly as someone may pat a family pet.

"Tornado holding up well Tails?" Amy asked smirking.

"She always does Amy, never lets me down."

The three friends now watched as in the distance they could see a gathering of storm clouds. Lightning streaked between them and in the flashes the Floating Island was lit up. It was cast in shadow with huge splattering rain drops pounding the ground.

"What do you think Tails, can you get us through in one piece?" Sonic asked throwing down his imaginary gauntlet.

Tails said nothing, only narrowed his eyes and steered the plane towards the island.

As the conditions became rough Sonic sank down into a crouching position and held onto the plane wing with both hands. The rain was pressing hard against his spines soaking him right through. The plane jerked from side to side trying to avoid the lightning strikes. It was a rare moment when the hedgehog wished he was tucked away in the passenger seat with a safety belt, too late now.

In a combination of complex dives and smooth bank turns Tails kept the Tornado in the air. Progress was slow but it was too risky to try a half loop and swing back towards the island, a high G turn through a lightning storm would be suicide. He wiped his goggles. He could hear Amy taking deep determined breaths behind him and Sonic banging on the wing.

"Well come down and fly it yourself!" Tails roared back at the hedgehog. The banging stopped.

After another five minutes of 'dodge the lightning' the Tornado began her descent. Tails found the landing equally dangerous as the wheels plunged into the slush and churned up mud from the storm. They began to slide uncontrollably towards one of the stone walls. Tails applied his emergency procedures to slow the craft down but it was no use. They were still gaining momentum and a gigantic carved stone face was looming into view.

Sonic recognised the stone face as one of the traps Eggman had set in the Marble Gardens. If the Tornado got smashed they wouldn't be able to get off the island, he needed to take some drastic action. Leaping boldly from the plane he ran ahead trying to redirect the plotted course away from the wall. The Tornado was now following him just as planned but now what?

He looked at the others frantically waving and pointing behind him. A glance over his shoulder revealed something he didn't want to see. The Marble Gardens are beautiful, exotic and mysterious. They have coral and grey coloured walls and loops that could rival the Green Hill Zone any day of the week. They also happen to have the steepest hills on the island.

"SHIT!"

The Tornado was chasing Sonic now, down the wet and slippery slope. The faster Sonic went, the faster the plane was gaining on him. He could hear Tails cursing and the wheels of the Tornado squeaking and twisting in agony.

The rain had turned into small balls of icy hail and launched themselves at Sonic's face, his eyes and his legs. His whole body tensed up as the tiny balls made their impact and just like chinese water torture he knew this fun wasn't going to last before it would start to get painful.

"Sonic! Jump over us – jump over the plane!" It was Amy, who at the same time was attaching her pico pico hammer to some rope. She wrapped her pink legs around one the metal struts close to the wing and began tying the other end of the rope to the Tornado.

Sonic wasn't entirely sure what the rosy rascal was up to but took the advice gratefully. He achieved a well timed jump over the plane and continued to follow helplessly.

Amy meanwhile, was concentrating on spinning her hammer in a wide circle. She was waiting for the right moment. The Seven of Cups had given her a pretty clear message, she wasn't about to ignore it and die. The hammer flew into the air and latched onto a nearby oak tree, she yanked hard and was then thrown back into the passenger seat. The rope was snatched away in seconds as the plane continued to slide. There was a loud crunch as the Tornado was halted in its chaos. The tree, uprooted was sinking into the ground causing them to slow down. The makeshift anchor played its part and sure enough the Tornado finally came to a halt with only a few dents.

"You guys ok?" Sonic asked, as Amy and Tails clamoured out of the plane.

"Fine, but no more economy seats for me," Amy laughed, "I've decided I'm only worth first class!"

The freedom fighters shivered but with grim determination they forced their way through the icy storm. Miles used his tails as a soft shield against the hail but the two hedgehogs had no such luxuries. Ahead they spotted the familiar tall structure known as the emerald chamber and made a final burst of effort to get inside its safe and dry walls. Pausing for a moment they caught their breath and tried to shake off the cold.

"Don't care what form it's in I hate water!" Sonic said with irritation, but he took comfort in the fact that he had a trick up his sleeve which would soon sort him out. Super spinning on the spot he propelled the water droplets from his body into the air. He stopped and stroked his arms which were now bone dry and sighed with contentment. It was only then that he noticed Amy standing next to him, arms crossed and dripping like she'd just had a shower.

They followed the tunnel into the main chamber accompanied by Amy's sneezes and sniffling. Sonic had an impulse to feel slightly guilty but ignored it with glee. At the core torches were lit revealing six glittering gems, each a differing colour and set into an aqua crystal rock. No matter how many times Sonic saw the chaos emeralds it never ceased to amaze him how beautiful and magnificent they were. They had previously been buried much deeper underground in the Lava Reefs, specifically a place known as the Hidden Palace.

The hedgehog had been there once only and what he saw had confused the hell of him. It wasn't the splendour or alien world which he had encountered, or the fight with Knuckles but rather the strange mural that resided there. It had a purple jewel encrusted frame and depicted in neon blues, greens and yellows a familiar figure with a huge nose and giant arms clutching a giant green stone. To the left of this figure was an icon surrounded by a ball of flame, blue and with a distinctive arrangement of spines.

Sonic often thought about the mural and what it meant. It had been up to him to rescue the master emerald, as Hyper Sonic and return it to Knuckles before the island crashed into the great sea. The echidna had mentioned once how his people would interpret their dreams and create such murals to warn future generations about potential danger. It seemed odd to Sonic that _he_ would become some kind of 'saviour' to the echidna race, when it was _Knuckles_ who was meant to be protecting it!

"We may as well wait here for the storm to blow itself out." Sonic sighed to himself.

"What about Knuckles?" Amy replied.

"I can check the island's console logs and see if he left us anything. He might even turn up in a little while to check on the chaos emeralds." Tails was talking to himself rather than Amy and he was already punching in requests on the island's dinosaur of a computer. After Eggman's attack and the close call that was Sonic's third adventure, the Freedom fighters had offered some assistance in the technology department of the floating island. Knuckles didn't have a clue about computers or gadgets and was very reluctant to accept. Tails however, had managed to persuade the echidna that a radio link and getting the island's defence systems back online might be a good idea.

Whilst he was getting to grips with echidna technology the fox had installed one or two extras that might prove useful. One of these was a surveillance feature that would begin recording the instant the intruder alarm was set off. It was this particular data Tails was trying to retrieve.

Angel Island, Hydro city, Marble Gardens, Carnival Night, Ice Cap, Launch Base and Mushroom Hill were completely clear nothing odd going on there. At Sandopolis however, Tails watched as a vertical red line appeared from the tip of the zone's enormous pyramid. The line continued to stretch to at least three metres tall and then it ripped apart.

Where the line had been was a large brown and yellow hole that kept fading and reappearing. From the hole something was emerging but as to what Tails didn't have a clue. The screen showed a blip in the pattern of the stone steps making the outer layer of the pyramid. Had the hole not appeared moments earlier you could have sworn that there was nothing different at all. The blip however, was definitely moving - it had become a wave rippling vertically down the pyramid. Tails peered closer and watched as two small red spheres flashed. The picture fizzled into white static and Tails gasped. The surveillance camera had just been destroyed.

"Sonic. You better take a look at this."


	3. Run like an Egyptian

**Author's note - This is a special chapter dedicated to Halloween since it's coming up fairly soon! I never quite realised how difficult it would be to come up with a convincing enemy for the freedom fighters without going over old ground. The images and stereotypes of what we consider to be evil are quite predictable - don't you think? **

**Anyway,** **I hope you enjoy it!**

Chapter Three 

Run like an Egyptian

It began with a dream - no a nightmare, which had left the brave echidna in a cold sweat. A dream about his ancestors and the power of the master emerald, he'd watched as echidna warriors writhed and shook with pain. The intense emotions fear and desperation, the flashes of light as they began to change. Their eyes to blood stained red and their bodies to striking gold. Then they had turned to face each other as though strangers and began to fight. Large balls of chaos energy flew in all directions smashing into friends and foes alike.

"We know not what we do!" They screamed, "Forgive us!"

They were those not chosen to use the ultimate power, to guard and protect the people. These were the unprepared and inferior beings with impure intentions. The negative chaos energy had taken hold of them attacking the mind and body as punishment. The undeserving would be made an example of.

The same dream was becoming more and more frightening and horrific. Whatever it meant the echidna didn't want to think or acknowledge it he had work to do. Island maintenance had been put on hold for months and unblocking the entrance to the Lava Reefs from Sandopolis especially had been delayed.

Rouge the bat it seemed was doing a pretty good job of keeping him preoccupied. At this his cheeks reddened ever so slightly – that had been one amazing kiss! Between keeping the master emerald from her clutches and Eggman the island had sadly come second.

Knuckles groaned, with marble pillars smashed, arches crumbling and vines strangling the architecture he felt the island had indeed seen better days. He could imagine the day when his people finally got off their backsides to return home. The first thing they would probably say:

"What the hell happened? This place is a mess! What kind of guardian are you?"

There were two entrances to Lava Reef one of which resided inside the great pyramid of Sandopolis. Knuckles however, had a few reservations about going inside. It wasn't that the guardian disliked the pyramid itself. On the contrary he was fascinated by the hieroglyphics and superb relics that had been left behind. It was a simply the fact that there were also some unwelcome guests that lived inside. The pyramid ghosts had a nasty habit of becoming dangerous and deadly when the chamber was in total darkness.

The first time he had explored the tomb was to lure Sonic into its booby traps, he never realised that in turn he too would be put to the test. Eggman had enjoyed redecorating the place in his own unique style and 'accidentally' had forgotten to deactivate the badniks and other traps to allow Knuckles safe passage.

This time however, Knuckles was going to be thoroughly prepared. Inside the sack slung over his shoulder was the ultimate 'ghost busting kit' consisting of some medium sized rocks, a flashlight, ball of thread and some strong rope. His plan was to hang a rock from every light switch he came across inside the pyramid. This he hoped would mean he wouldn't have to tackle a single ghost. He could clear the entrance quickly without a fuss – simple! Chuckling to himself and feeling confident he entered the ancient monument and made his way to the burial chamber.

Everything seemed to be going well. The rocks weighed down the pulleys which in turn maintained a steady flow of light, which was a good thing as the burial chamber was unrecognisable. Eggman, he remembered had activated the tomb's robot guardian and tried to zap and squash him into an early grave. In the process the walls had caved in on themselves and it was only now years later that Knuckles saw the full extent of the damage. He felt his heart sink, each corner of the room gave him more reasons to become distraught. Priceless antiques, tapestries and pottery were completely destroyed. Irreplaceable artefacts of echidna history wiped out within seconds.

In his heart he didn't want to blame Sonic. Eggman had ultimately been responsible but he couldn't help wishing at this precise moment that he had never met either of them. He wished that the Death Egg had carried on crashing down to Mobius and had missed the Floating Island. He smashed his fists into a large boulder and watched it collapse into dust. Somewhere underneath all this was the zoom tube to Lava Reef and he was determined to find it.

"Nothing is ever easy is it?" He moaned to himself, "Sonic gets to play with the toys but never cleans them up—!"

The lights flickered and a pin prick of paranoia crept into his mind. Small beads of sweat formed on his forehead and he licked his lips nervously.

"Just a glitch nothing to worry about…" He tried to reassure himself.

He waited for his heart to beat normally again and upon realising he had also been holding his breath, he let himself exhale.

Something snapped and was followed by a dull thud to his right. Knuckles swung around wildly as the lights flickered again. He knew it was silly but his instinct was telling him to run like the wind and get out the pyramid immediately. Another rope snapped. The echidna took to his heels and began to run. He backtracked down the passageways were he had carefully unravelled his ball of thread. Ropes were snapping all around him. The small rocks thumped the stone slabs underneath them which sent a loud echo throughout the whole pyramid. He retraced the thread trail around sharp corners and past the sand trap panels embedded in the floor.

Then the lights went out.

* * *

Meanwhile Sonic, Amy and Tails were taking a hike across the desert of Sandopolis. Here the sun was blazing down upon them and the heat escaping from the sands warped the landscape so that it danced and moved in a blurry haze. Sonic had decided to walk for a while in case they spotted anything unusual. Amy followed without question but Tails was visibly shrinking and lagging behind. He had a thing about hot weather it simply didn't agree. His shoes and tails were full of sand and the unrelenting heat was sucking away his remaining energy. 

"So the spheres on the screen were just little robots to scout ahead right Tails? Tails?" Amy turned and found the fox sinking to his knees and breathing heavily.

"I just need to rest for a bit that's all…WHOAH!"

The female hedgehog had hoisted her exhausted friend onto her back and proceeded to carry the startled youngster the rest of the way. "I give Cream piggy backs all the time don't worry. Now tell me about the spheres." She insisted.

"The spheres right… well my theory is that they belong to someone with stealth technology. A stealth suit would make you invisible - kind of like Espio in Chaotix. The patterns on the pyramid were being disrupted by something, something quite big too."

"Why Sandopolis?" Sonic pitched in.

At this Tails could only scratch his furry orange head. Sandopolis had sand lots of sand, a wreck of a pyramid and not much else. What could possibly be so important in this particular zone to warrant the mysterious creature a visit?

* * *

Back inside the musty smelling pyramid the lights had gone out abandoning Knuckles in darkness. He hugged the wall listening and waiting for his eyes to adjust. He knew what was coming next but he took a firm grip of the flashlight and forced himself to remain calm. If he panicked and ran blindly back into the centre of the maze he was dead. Instead he could only pray that the ghosts wouldn't notice him – no such luck. 

Two familiar white shapes had materialised just beside him. Knuckles grabbed the flashlight and punched the 'on' button with shaking hands. In the eerie glow of the torch light the ghost began to laugh. He could see the two gaping black holes that made up the ghost's eyes and its red pupils gleaming with menace. Not a mischievous ghost from a child's comic book or a lost soul from the super natural. This particular brand of ghost had a taste for death, the death that is, of anyone who dared to enter the pyramid.

Knuckles stumbled, tripped and fell through the shadows with the ghost close behind. Where was the exit? His arms scrapped the jagged stone walls but he kept on running. He squinted desperately trying to keep the torch focused on the life saving thread. He couldn't believe it - the exit was there! He could spot the dust particles swirling in the sunshine. The ghost shrieked in anger as Knuckles made his escape. The spectrophobic echidna would live to run away another day!

Sonic smirked as he watched his red friend collapse onto the floor gasping and panting.

"Hey Dread, you should try going for a run in the sunshine some time its much healthier for you!"

"Oh God it's you." Knuckles mumbled glumly.

"But Knuckles you told us to come! A problem with the master emerald, remember? You sent a radio message for help so we came." Amy handed him some bottled water looking concerned.

"I didn't send any message. I don't need help from you guys either so you've wasted your time."

The radio transmission had been a fake there was no doubt about it. Knuckles, was now leading his friends through a series of zoom tubes which provided shortcuts across the island. He had the sudden urge to return to the master emerald as quickly as possible. Along the way Tails brought him up to date with what he had seen on the computer monitor. He told his stubborn acquaintance about the line, the hole and the spheres. He also mentioned his stealth theory which Knuckles admitted he didn't like the sound of.

The zoom tube had finally arrived back at the Marble Gardens. Zones tubes were designed for speed and propelling the user at high velocity, across long distances.

"Hey Tails, how about one of these for a Christmas present?" Sonic laughed out loud.

"Over my dead body hedgehog." Knuckles growled back.

Originally they had been used as shortcuts for messengers at times of war. There were murals scattered throughout the island's caves showing the tubes and echidna warriors emerging from them holding what looked like envelopes. It had been, Knuckles suspected, an important communication system many years ago. All this however, was speculation.

As Amy climbed the one hundred and twenty three steps of the master emerald granite stairway, she began to regret ever coming. Was this what the strength card had meant? Physical strength to survive a plane crash, carry a fox across the desert, being blown away by zoom tubes and climbing large sets of steps? It was the hardest fitness workout she'd ever had, even more challenging than fours sessions of boxercise a week and that was saying something.

At the top she was rewarded by the shining and mystic green light of the master emerald. Inside she knew Tikal and Chaos were sleeping undisturbed and in peace. A light breeze tickled her nose. It was easy to believe that the images she'd seen on the monitor had never existed. That the island was in no peril and they had indeed made a mistake. Knuckles, was checking the large stone for any imperfections. Amy smiled, the master emerald reminded her of a child that kept getting lost and kidnapped by strangers. It must be infuriating to have to guard it day after day and year after year. Sonic was sitting down leaning against a rock with his arms behind his head. Tails was busy tapping into a mobile device no doubt looking for unusual activity, but he didn't seem concerned.

"I'm glad the rain stopped. It's turned out to be such a beautiful day."

A loud slapping sound brought Sonic back from his day dream. He could see Amy clutching her cheek and shouting angrily at nothing in particular in front of her.

"What's up now?" He asked confused.

"Something just slapped me across the face!" Amy was fuming and pointed at her cheek to prove it.

"But there's nothing there…"

Suddenly all around them yellow and brown holes started to appear, some large and others small. Strange figures could be glimpsed for the slightest second and then disappeared into thin air. They could hear footsteps as the creatures moved across the rocky steps. They could hear the creatures breathing and chattering rapidly to one another.

Three sets of five red spheres had appeared over the master emerald. From the spheres metal wires were released attaching themselves to the stone. Chaos energy began to flow along the wires to the spheres making them glow in tones of green and yellow. In turn the spheres projected the energy onto the invisible bodies surrounding the group.

"Sonic, I don't like this." Amy gulped.

_

* * *

_

**Author's note x 2 - ****_See Trouble with Rouge – Allybalybee_.**


	4. The Angel

Chapter Four – Amy the Angel

The Master Emerald's striking green appearance was beginning to fade. Its energy was being drained and transferred to the mysterious creatures via the red spheres. Knuckles looked on in horror the creatures were charging up like live batteries. No longer in stealth mode but lit up in multi coloured tones. Purples, reds, oranges, blues, greens and pinks ebbed and flowed through their bodies. They had no shape only parts that stuck out where perhaps limbs should be. No faces or distinctive features - he had never come across such things before and he didn't like the look of them one bit.

Knuckles charged downwards the red spheres punching one hard but he never reached his target. One of the creatures had grown an arm at least five metres long! It was standing on the other side of the Master Emerald moving its new arm with lightning speed preventing the echidna from breaking through. It was a flimsy, weak bare thread of an arm how could it move so fast and be so strong? It was incomprehensible. The guardian continued to struggle against the cascade of colour in front of him. Jumping away the arm spilt into four parts and surrounded the echidna creating a square on the floor. In turn from each side of the square a transparent barrier was set up. When Knuckles tried to walk out of the square he was met by a solid wall. He pressed his palms against one of the cube's newly formed walls and pushed, it was solid. He tried to punch it and was rewarded with an electric shock. The transparent walls were now alive with blue buzzing energy it had become an electrified prison!

Tails immediately began punching buttons on his scanning mobile device. The readings were going off the chart the amount of differing energy being detected was beyond the scales. All he could tell was that the barrier sealing Knuckles inside was adapting to his behaviour patterns. Whatever method he used to escape the prison used the information and turned it against him. He was immediately reminded of Emerl a robot that copied the fighting techniques of anyone it fought. He had been powered by the Chaos Emeralds perhaps there was a link? One thing was for sure the red spheres would need to be dealt with before they even had a chance of tackling the colourful creatures.

Sonic stood up. Having watched carefully what had happened to his hot headed friend he veered on the side of caution.

"Who are you?" He demanded but there was no reply.

He dashed to his left narrowly escaping the square trap that had appeared under his feet. Another of the gaudy mob had turned its attention to the speedy blue hedgehog. It had no eyes but Sonic could tell it was watching his every move, waiting for a gap or a weakness to exploit. It sent several globs of colour into the air these globs morphed into spikes and began raining down on Sonic. Shuffling from side to side the cocky hero came back on himself and ran past the enemy. The spikes smashed through the alien's body separating it into a dozen pieces. It lay still on the ground and Sonic grinned.

"You remind me an awful lot of Chaos you know that? Just as easy to defeat too…"

The pieces of the creature's body were splattered all over the floor like paint splodges. The drops of colour began to quiver and shake. They slid over the craggy rocks searching for one another. Like mercury they rejoined gradually increasing in size, until the reformed being was back to how it had always been. Sonic's eyes widened this wasn't going to be as easy as he thought.

Amy hugged the rock she was hiding behind in a panic. What the hell were those things? One had sprouted wings and taken to the air and scoured the area to get a better look. It spotted the pink hedgehog and dived towards her. From its wings a string of fine coloured goo erupted which bounced on the ground forming huge arches that repeated over and over. The arches were rushing headlong at the perceived foe, Amy could only turn and run.

She ran down the steps back the way she had come. Five creatures had joined the chase now each shooting their own strand of goo. Some had morphed into projectiles others were four legged beasts accelerating to catch their prey. The beasts ran ahead cutting off the escape route and Amy was forced to turn another direction.

"SONIC!"

The blue hedgehog rolled his eyes at the sight before him. The beasts had transformed their arms into sharp blades and were now trying to chop his friend into Amy snack bites. Knuckles was trapped in the electric prison and now even Tails was struggling. His little brother was diving to the floor trying to avoid one of the creatures who had decided to morph into the Tornado! The pulsing vivid plane was circling the fox and firing bullets of blue and green towards its target. Some bullets splattered onto the ground and began to spread over the stone floor, others made deeper impacts and carved holes as large as craters.

"This is intense!" Tails wheezed as he tried desperately to keep from getting hit. It was too late he slipped on the blue ooze that had caked the floor and rolled over. He tried to get up immediately but was stuck in place - he couldn't move!

It began to dawn on the techno whiz kid that he was succumbing to the effects of unusual gravity. He was sinking into the goo half his body had already disappeared, even though he knew it was impossible. Tails breathed deeply and tried to remain calm and still. He believed the effect to be the same as quick sand. The ooze, however had other ideas and was working increasingly hard to drag him under! Hundreds of tiny hands were pinching and tugging on Tails' fur dragging him towards hell. The fox fought back the urge to struggle and ignored the overwhelming desire to scream.

Amy found herself well and truly caught within the grasp of two large hands. She took her Piko Piko hammer and began to smack the beast determined to make an impression, the 'Coloureds' as she now called them snarled and hissed at the unwelcome mallet attacks. The Coloured who had seized her moments before threw Amy away straight back towards the Master Emerald, she smashed into the jewel sending it rolling away from its stone base.

"Oh God!" She forced her battered body to get up and run after the emerald, but it didn't get far. The red orbs circuit that had been draining the Master Emerald had finally been broken and the Coloureds power supply had been disconnected. Amy couldn't believe she hadn't broken anything a leg, an arm or even teeth she was still one piece.

Sonic saw the opportunity and made a break for it, he placed his hands carefully on top of the Master Emerald and felt his body energise with incredible power. His blue quills stood to attention and then spiked out jagged and sharp. His shining green eyes began to change into a deep crimson red he was surrounded by an intense yellow light that completely enveloped his body.

Super Sonic was out for revenge he ploughed into the red orbs swinging them together and cracking them open like eggs. The Coloureds turned aware that a new threat had arrived, their colourful bodies without the power supply had transformed to a dull shade of grey. They paced towards the bright yellow hedgehog morphing together to create a large warp hole that began to suck the in air like a vacuum cleaner.

Super Sonic was steadily being pulled into the hole he could see stars, moons and comets that he didn't recognise. He knew that being sucked into space in a galaxy far away from an inhabitable planet was not recommended. When the chaos energy ran its course he would be the ordinary Sonic the Hedgehog again. Ordinary Sonic the Hedgehog could not breathe in space and ordinary Sonic the Hedgehog would be a dead hedgehog.

He concentrated on a great ball of fizzing yellow chaos energy and hauled towards the enemy. It stunned the Coloureds for a brief moment but they recovered quickly and advanced once more towards their yellow demon. The warp hole's pull was extremely strong already columns of marble and even large boulders had been prised from their settings and were sucked in.

The aliens had decided to change tactics and now spilt into three, one to maintain the warp hole as a threat and other two to distract Super Sonic and keep him busy. Knuckles and Tails were still wrapped in their own problems and could only watch helplessly as Super Sonic battled alone. The yellow hedgehog was throwing everything he had at the antagonists but still they came hurling sticky ooze and morphing objects into projectiles. Every time Super Sonic was hit he could feel his energy being drained he couldn't keep this up for long.

Even with super speed and chaos energy he couldn't get close enough to pummel into the horde. The warp hole was a constant irritation once or twice he truly believed that he may be sucked inside and darted out of harm's way at the crucial second. Smaller holes appeared revealing more red orbs that fired wires into Super Sonic's skin they began to extract the chaos energy from the new source. Super Sonic roared with rage.

Amy shook her head and clenched her fists, Super Sonic was in trouble and there was nothing she could do! She watched as the red orbs fired more wires into the flesh of Super Sonic, although he fought valiantly and smashed several of the droids to pieces another set of warp holes appeared with yet more red orbs. The warp hole was closing in on him but he was entangled in the wires of the orbs.

"You can't gang up on him that's not fair!" She yelled at the Coloureds but they ignored her.

She glanced at Tails who was sticking his nose out of the blue ooze trying to breathe, if she didn't do something soon these aliens were going to win and take everything she held dear away.

Sonic was beginning to turn back to his normal royal blue he looked in great pain with blood spilling from where the wires had plunged into his limbs. They had extracted all the chaos energy from him and now wanted to take the rest. He struggled wildly against the wires but they held firm and kept him in place, he gave a distressed cry .

"NO!"

"Sonic, I'm coming!" Amy shouted to him, she looked at the Master Emerald about to thrust her hands into the chaos energy when Knuckles called out to her.

"Don't do it Amy, you have no idea what the chaos energy will do to you!"

"I can't just let him die!"

She was afraid just being near the Master Emerald filled her with unease and dread. It was so incredibly powerful if she did the unthinkable what would happen? Was she strong enough to resist the negative energy embedded within the stone? She had never turned super before or even so much as held a Chaos Emerald, what if the power was too much and ripped her apart? Sonic had grown used to the energy over time he knew how to control and use it properly. What if she was making a terrible mistake?

Knuckles could see the mind struggle going on and frantically screamed at Amy not to touch the Master Emerald. He knew that if Amy didn't control the power it would overtake her and turn her against her friends.

"DON'T DO IT!" Knuckles pleaded.

Amy covered her ears and focused on Sonic, he needed her help she didn't care what happened. If Sonic went into the warp hole it was over and nothing would bring him back.

"I'll take my chances!" She shouted back and clamped her fingers tips onto the emerald's surface.

At first nothing happened but then the emerald began to glow bright pink. Amy could feel jolts of chaos energy pouring into her body, she felt stronger more capable. She grasped the mallet and hurdled towards the nearest Coloured, the creature had not been expecting that! When the mallet connected the Coloured turned to stone and crumbled to the floor. Amy swung around pulled Tails from the blue ooze and settled him gently on firm ground.

"GO AMY!" He cheered back.

Next she smacked her hammer into the next target sending it careering towards its colleague holding the warp hole. When the warp hole fell from the Coloured it smashed to the floor just like a mirror. The suction ceased and Amy finally turned her attention back to Sonic.

Knuckles gasped at Amy in absolute amazement, she was magnificent! Her soft pink quills had become untangled from her red hair band and now jutted out to the sides. Her body was a golden yellow pulsing and glowing with power. Her piko piko hammer had turned completely silver and whenever it swung a barrage of silver and gold stars followed it. She flew at astounding speed and charged at the enemy relentlessly.

She attacked the smaller holes with her mallet and sent them crashing to the floor just as the larger warp hole had done. The droids began to fire their wires towards her but she twisted her mallet in circles so that the wires attached themselves to the handle instead. Then she jerked the droids and forced them to meet her where she promptly disposed of them with a ball of chaos flame.

Sonic weakly opened his eyes and thought he was dreaming was this Amy? He tried to speak but no words would come from his mouth he was blacking out. The droid's hold was slipping and he could feel his body falling towards the hard ground. He expected the landing to hurt and tried curled into a ball. Instead he was caught and a gentle hand was caressing his head. He looked up into crimson eyes that he didn't recognise. Oddly enough he wasn't afraid.

"Are you an angel?" He asked in confusion. She was warm and had a kind face, he felt completely at peace with her presence and yet there was something awfully familiar about the way she was looking at him.

The angel smiled but shook her head. They floated slowly back to the Master Emerald where Knuckles and Tails were waiting for them. Amy settled Sonic down gently and glanced around it seemed that the Coloureds had retreated – for now.


	5. Three Long Days

Chapter Five

As Amy returned to her natural pink colour the power and control she had enjoyed was beginning to ebb away. She felt dizzy and swerved.

Sonic woke up and watched as Amy hit the ground in silence.

"Amy? Wake up, hey look you've done plenty to catch my attention today this isn't necessary ok? Amy?"

She curled into a protective ball clutching her stomach and moaning softly. She whispered something but Sonic couldn't make out the words it sounded like another language. Her skin felt electric to touch and Sonic withdrew his hand in shock.

"Amy, talk to me please."

"I don't feel very well." She replied whimpering. Hunched over now and resting on her elbows and legs she sucked in her breath determined not to vomit. When the nausea had passed, her body suddenly felt like red hot pokers were stabbing her insides. It was a throbbing but bearable pain - perhaps this was a side effect of using the Master Emerald she thought. Maybe Sonic had to go through this pain barrier every time he went super and they simply hadn't noticed. If he could cope without wincing and moaning then she could bloody well do it too.

Something wasn't right, the pain had moved and transformed into a headache. A minor annoyance at first but it was gaining force and becoming exceedingly painful. She covered her ears with her hands and blinked back tears. A sharp high pitched sound began to echo inside her mind. Her brain felt like someone was trying to prise it through cheese wire. She gasped over whelmed by the noise and agony she was being forced to endure.

"Help me!" She cried out in despair.

Knuckles ran to the pink hedgehog and turned her over. "I warned you not to do it." He cursed.

It was too much Amy began to scream; a sharp, alarming and terrifying scream. She thrashed out at her friend and scratched him across the face. Tears were streaming down her cheeks but the noise would not stop, it continued to bore into her head becoming more and more intense. She felt like she was going insane and yelled at the top of her lungs. Something was trying to pin her down she fought wildly kicking and punching. She could no longer see anything clearly the colours spun and voices sounded like snarls and screams.

Something was trapped inside her and it wanted to escape. The power and energy of the Master Emerald was expanding, swelling up filling every vein and every cell of her body it needed to be released.

"I can't control it!" She sobbed.

Meanwhile Sonic had Knuckles by the scruff of the neck after he tried to hold Amy down. He was barking into his face.

"What the hell is happening to her? God damn it you're meant to the Master Emerald expert. Do something to help her!"

"It's chaos poisoning I can't do _anything_!" Knuckles pushed him away and marched back to Amy lying on the ground. She had begun to fit, shaking uncontrollably. "Amy wasn't supposed to touch the Master Emerald. I told her stop but she wanted to save your sorry ass! She's been deemed unworthy but there might be a chance that her body will work through this. Maybe she'll survive I don't know I've never come across this before. If she's strong enough the energy will eventually settle… maybe… but Sonic, this is serious. Even if Amy does make it through I don't think she's going to be the same ever again."

Sonic looked back at Amy who was now lying completely still. He had a lump in the back of his throat and it wouldn't go away. His eyes were beginning to sting as he gently picked her up. She felt too floppy. She wasn't snuggling into his chest like she did sometimes when he rescued her. She was lifeless.

Forty eight hours had passed since the 'Master Emerald' incident. Amy had been made as comfortable as possible on a bed of straw and some warm blankets Knuckles had dug up. She looked deathly pale but at least the screaming had stopped. She had developed a fever and shivered now and again. The strange mutterings had also made a return which unnerved the three boys especially Knuckles.

"She's speaking in the ancient tongue." He swallowed hard, "How could she possibly do that?"

"I don't _care_." Sonic snapped and glared at him, "I want Amy to get well." He stood up abruptly, snatched the water bowl and stormed out the chamber.

"Is she going to wake up Knuckles?" Tails asked awkwardly.

"As long as Sonic is around I think she'll keep trying her best." The echidna smiled back weakly. This wasn't the Amy he was used to. Where was the bouncy, vigorous busybody that stubbornly refused to be any less than enthusiastic and happy about life? The young lady who refused to give up and smacked her friends with a hammer if they dare question her decisions?

Knuckles hadn't noticed before how pretty she was. It was as if by lying still he was looking at the pink hedgehog for the first time. Without her overwhelming energy and ranting to distract him she had become an actual person not just the crazy fan girl who chased Sonic. He wondered if he'd ever said a single kind word to Amy in all the time they had known each other. He thought hard but he couldn't think of anything. Feeling ashamed he too left the chamber.

When Sonic returned he found a large vase filled to the brim with yellow roses by Amy's bed. Confused he looked at Tails, whose eyes rested on Knuckles leaning against a wall on the far side. Sonic's harsh gaze softened slightly.

"They're her favourite flowers." He picked a single rose and his nose twitched at the pleasant scent, "She prefers the red ones though…"

"That's not **my** place." Knuckles replied shrugging his broad shoulders.

After another twenty four hours the fever had at last begun to subside. Amy was much calmer and sleeping, peacefully unaware that Sonic and the others had been playing nurse non stop for three days. Sonic jerked his head back up after his snout had fallen into the water bowl for the fourth time. He put it to the side.

"You know Tails really misses you and Knuckles even got you some roses. They're quite pretty but the thing is you have to wake up to see them – big catch eh?" Sonic shook his head. He hadn't been anywhere for three days except to the stream and back. It was funny. When Amy was awake he wanted to be anywhere else except where she was. Now he was sitting right by her and didn't dare move an inch.

"Rosy… you brave fool." A strained choked laugh escaped his lips as he hid his head in his hands.


	6. Breaking Through

Chapter Six – Breaking Through

When Sonic woke up his face was still wet from the tears he had wept, hastily he wiped them away.

"She's looking a lot better." Knuckles said with relief. Even though Amy had directly ignored his advice and turned super he still wanted her to be okay. He had watched Sonic burning the midnight oil and keeping a close eye on her progress. This was a side of the hedgehog he had never seen before.

"I've been thinking…" Sonic began.

"Isn't that dangerous for you?"

The hedgehog and the echidna smirked at each other. Sonic was reminded of the early days when he had first met Knuckles on the island, he was a cheeky bastard back then too: taking the emeralds, pushing irritating switches whilst laughing and setting off endless booby traps. His 'friend' had taken great delight in making life as difficult as possible and using his knowledge of the island to full advantage.

"Been thinking about the Master Emerald by any chance?" The blue hedgehog nodded.

"Knux, you don't like me asking questions about it but I need to understand what happened to Amy."

Knuckles was surprised at the hedgehog's honesty and tone of respect that he was suggesting. His friend knew a fair amount about the Chaos Emeralds anyway he had been using them for at least a year before they had met on Angel Island. How much more was there to tell about the Master?

"I've turned super before and never had a problem you have too and even Tails! Why did Amy have such a bad reaction? Why have I never had chaos poisoning despite using the emerald's power lots of times and she's only used it once?"

"I've been exposed to chaos energy all my life it's only natural that I'd have some immunity. As for you and Tails, I can only guess that your previous exposure to the Chaos Emeralds has helped protect your bodies against chaos poisoning. The amount of chaos energy that the Chaos Emeralds contain is significantly less than the Master Emerald. Amy dived straight into the most concentrated and pure source of chaos energy first!"

"So you're saying because I've used the Chaos Emeralds to turn super before the Master Emerald, I've got used to the energy and don't get sick? Makes sense but Amy didn't know that…" He sighed heavily, "Blaze, is the only girl I've ever seen turn super I never thought that Amy could – would even try. She was something else up there."

Knuckles shook his head at the memory, he still hadn't come to terms with the fact it had been Amy swinging her hammer saving everyone from those creatures. He had an idea about their origin but it was an idea that made his skin crawl.

"I need to check something out."

* * *

Amy used her mallet to support her aching body as she dragged herself to her feet. She had no idea where she was but this was definitely not the floating island. She was standing on a flat metallic disk suspended high in the air around her grey wisps of cloud. It was quiet and there was no immediate threat of danger and yet Amy couldn't help but feel a deep sense of foreboding. 

She remembered her tarot cards and the messages they tried to convey:

_The next card depicted two swords crossed over the meaning? _

"_A friendship at a time of adversity. An ally upon whom you can depend," Amy paid this card a little more attention, "… a decision has to be made logically, but there are no clues as to which direction to take. A balance between two equally matched opponents. A duel."_

She was the ally that Sonic could depend upon that was quite obvious now. The duel was slightly more complex the fight had not been balanced not even with Super Sonic. It had taken Amy's intervention in addition to Super Sonic to stop the Coloureds. The Freedom Fighters alone were no match for the aliens they were not an equal match.

"Oh where am I?" She asked the grey sky but there was no reply. She took a stroll to look at her new surroundings and peeked over the edge of the disc. There was a great sea of nothingness below again shaded with same colour as the sky, it was a depressing place.

"Just the depths of your mind." Another voice spoke behind her, Amy knew there had been no one there before that somehow they had materialised from thin air. Determined to keep her composure she took a deep breath, tightened her grip around the piko piko hammer and slowly turned around.

The gasp that escaped her lips couldn't be helped it was the last person she had expected to see. The girl was golden yellow in colour and carried a silver mallet. She wore a red dress and a dishevelled red hair band with spines sticking out at odd angles. She smiled at Amy but it was a wicked smile with narrowing red eyes.

"Pleased to meet you I'm Amy the Angel." She erupted into a shriek of laughter.

* * *

Knuckles looked again at the pile of dusty old scrolls strewn his desk. He knew very little if any of the ancient tongue and it was extremely frustrating to try and make sense of anything. The echidna alphabet contained forty seven consonants and ten vowels he had tried many a time to decode and translate the alphabet but had failed. He could never remain on task for very long, distractions from Eggman and trying to repair the island had been more pressing. He was beginning to regret never finding the time to decipher the alphabet. 

He turned his attentions to the pictures contained within the scrolls instead to look for clues. The scroll he was currently holding showed the Master Emerald. There was also some text engraved in an arch above the large gem, Knuckles could pick out one or two words the rest beyond his translation skills.

"Unwind? No hang on that's O not an I. Unwordy – unworthy? Unworthy. D-e-m-ent, dement, dement? That's makes no sense at all! By the Master Emerald I swear my ancestors were a bunch of idiots! D-e-m-o? Nope that would be… oh demon - unworthy demon I see now."

He could see the demons within the picture surrounded by bright colours, some held distinct forms such as those of the echidnas others were not so clear. The picture depicted the demons watching the Master Emerald and their claws outstretched trying to grasp it.

"My dream, the negative energy will take hold and punish them, the unworthy demons – the undeserving would made be made an example of. Is that what you really are? Are those creatures what you have become?"

"Who are you talking to, Knuckles?" Tails piped up from behind him.

The echidna cried out with surprise and toppled backwards over his chair. The small earthquake sent the scrolls flying into the air the papers dancing through their folds.

"DON'T CREEP UP ON ME LIKE THAT!"

"I'm sorry!" Tails said genuinely, "Sonic sent me to find you, Amy finally woke up!"


	7. Add a Splash of Water

Knuckles rushed after the small fox back to the cave where Amy had been recovering. She was awake alright but not quite with it, her mint green eyes were completely glazed over. She stared blankly past Sonic into space and shook her head now and again in irritation. Sonic was assaulting her with a million questions - she ignored them and stayed silent. He waved his hand in front of her face but she didn't blink or flinch.

"She hasn't said anything since she woke up, it's like she's a zombie or something!" Sonic exclaimed twisting his handsome features into a frown.

"Hello, Knuckles." Amy spoke brightly as she jumped from her sitting position. She strolled up to the echidna and gave him a friendly punch on the arm, "had you worried there for a while didn't I? Sorry about that."

"Eh?" Knuckles began, but was cut off suddenly.

"It's been a really long day," Amy continued as she stretched her arms into the air. "I mean turning super REALLY takes it out of you. I feel like I could sleep for a week. I'm so hungry, I don't know about you but I could go for a burger and fries right now even though I'm on a diet! I didn't realise how drained you get you know? I mean the power is intense…"

"Yeah that's right, so intense you were screaming! Don't you remember?" Sonic coaxed.

"Oh Sonic, don't be so silly I wasn't _screaming_ just getting used to the chaos energy that's all!"

Sonic went to press the issue further but Amy wasn't interested, as the boys tried to explain what had happened to her she denied all knowledge. Eager to get home she thanked Knuckles, turned tail and headed straight towards the Tornado. Sonic was left speechless.

The flight home felt odd - at least to Sonic, he was sitting in the passenger seat shaking his head. He watched Amy as she stood and balanced with confidence on the Tornado wing without a care in the world. She was laughing it was squeaky high pitched laugher. The type of laughter that explodes from your lips when you feel adrenaline rushing around your body; laughter that you don't expect to hear, but is forced from you in the thrill of a moment.

This particular laughter Sonic knew very well, it summed up what he thrived on most the intense fuel of thrills, spills, excitement and adventure. The blanket of joy that smothers and holds you fast within its grip and then when it's all over, leaves you breathless and dizzy. Such laughter coming from Amy made the thrill seeker distinctly uncomfortable and he had no idea why.

"Why the wing walking of a sudden?" Tails shouted over the propellers of the bi plane.

"Hmm?" Sonic grunted as he was jolted from his own thoughts.

"Amy," Tails gestured with his head. "I thought she didn't like heights… and it's not like you to take a back seat!" The fox grinned slyly as he said this, but turned his head back to the joystick. Sonic drummed his fingers on the outer shell of the plane and snatched another glance at Amy. The pink hedgehog was standing tall with her hand resting on a curvy hip she turned around and flashed a dirty smile back, Tails had a coughing fit.

Back on Mobius, the gang separated. Amy, tired, went to lie down and Sonic couldn't deny he was relieved. There were thirty nine chilli dogs with his name on them in town and they couldn't wait, they were calling to him. Meanwhile, Tails took a trip back to his beloved workshop to reacquaint himself with the inventions he had abandoned so heartlessly three days before.

In the warm, comfortable and safe surroundings of her home, Amy lit some freesia scented candles and hit the play button on the CD player. She collapsed into bed drawing the soft blankets around her, whilst the soothing melody drifted to her ears. It was evening, the strawberry haze of the Mobian setting sun spilled onto the green hills before the shadows came to take their place.

Amy let her head touch the pillow once or twice even allowing her eyes to close, but they always snapped open just at the moment when sleep would catch her.

"I mustn't fall asleep." Amy whipped off the covers exposing her protesting body to the less attractive room temperature. She took a fluffy pink house coat from the wardrobe and went to the kitchen to make a large pot of coffee.

"_You must be awfully exhausted after today."_

"Not enough to sleep." Amy hissed as she slammed down the top of the coffee maker and watched as it began to bubble. She added to her mug three heaped tea spoons of sugar and jogged on the spot while she was waiting.

"_You think you can keep this up?"_

"Go away." Amy said crossly as she stirred the coffee mixture roughly. She sighed watching the creamy light brown swirl move clockwise around the inside of the ivory mug. The pink hedgehog took small sips feeling the caffeine getting to work with an instant lift even if it was only for a little while. She returned to the bedroom blew out the candles and opened the windows.

The coffee tasted terrible she never drank it usually and only kept a single jar to hand in case of visitors. She continued to drink the foul sweet tasting liquid until the mug was empty then the phone rang. Amy jumped and made a rush to take the call, it was a wrong number. She looked at the clock 7.45pm could she really stay up all night?

Back in the bedroom, Amy caught sight of the tarot cards she had left on the floor. The Seven of Cups, Page of Pentacles, Two of Swords, Strength, Knight of Wands and the Knight of Swords stared back at her no longer in their original horse shoe arrangement. There was one card still face down on the floor, the last card she had forgotten to turn over. Gingerly she gripped the card with her gloved hand and held it up.

It was the Nine of Swords, a card which stood for one thing within the tarot which Amy was coming to understand – cruelty. It was a card that meant sleepless nights, spite and slander which undermines even the strongest of wills. Suffering that eventually may produce a good outcome but not without pain. Female health that may diminish combined with self punishment and guilt.

Amy let the card drop to the floor and knew instinctively what was in store for her. She was going to lose the battle and when she did the consequences would be disastrous.

Back at home Sonic was catching up with a movie he had promised to watch for the past month. It was a horror film entitled 'Dracula' recommended by Vector the Crocodile of all people; it was about a vampire who stalked the occupants of a small rural village in Transylvania. In order to sustain his form Dracula was forced to attack and suck the blood of his victims thus turning them into vampires and so the plot continued. The Chaotix leader had referred to the film as a 'classic' a must see for all concerned. Sonic in all honesty felt he could take it or leave without too much guilt.

Noticing his popcorn bucket was empty the blue hedgehog clicked pause and headed to the kitchen. There wasn't much left in the fridge, the cupboards or his emergency 'snack attack' box.

"Must remember to hit the store…" Sonic grumbled. On further investigation he discovered half a bottle of flat diet lemonade and some stale pretzels, which after taking a small nibble Sonic decided he would rather choose life. He skipped over to the food fund jar, plucked out a crinkled blue note and flew out the door.

The night air was damp and cool. Against the backdrop of Greenhill the moon shone brightly and cast the shadow of a hedgehog figure and the trail of dust which followed behind him. He moved quickly and with purpose taking no notice of the beautiful night show that nature had created. Steady smoke rose into the air from the chimneys of the small houses where the Greenhill folk lived. Families were busy settling their children down to sleep and cuddling together on sofas, blissfully unaware of those who had ventured outside with business to attend to.

The hedgehog stopped flipped open the lid of the device on his wrist and glanced down at the energy signature, which was going berserk. He had been tracking the energy spike ever since it had appeared on the radar. There was definitely another Chaos Emerald around here somewhere and he was going to find it.

The female bat that had been patiently following him landed soundlessly and took a peek over his shoulder.

"Quite close now I see, about bloody time." Her companion nodded in agreement they had been following the energy spike for many hours, one second it was there bright as day the next it was gone. Every time they had grown closer and closer to the source it slipped through their fingers.

Flat on their stomachs the two animals inched forward until they could see down the slope. There was a river that began here formed from the smaller underground streams in the mountains. This particular river led to Green Hill Lake a few miles away. Near the river they spotted a figure forcing their head into the water and back out again repeating the process several times.

"Who the hell is that?" Rouge wrinkled up her nose and narrowed her eyes. The pointer on the hedgehog's wrist was going mental it bleeped and flashed confirming the Chaos Emerald was mere metres away from them.

Shadow glanced at his wrist the dial was turning clockwise now in circles over and over. He pointed the device towards the intended target and the green pointer flicked from left to right across its black onyx background.

"Crap," Rouge groaned placing the small pair of binoculars into her back pocket. "It's that crazy mallet girl who thinks she's Sonic's girlfriend. Why does she have a Chaos- what the devil is she doing now?" The bat looked on in disbelief as Amy walked straight into the river and began to wade into the centre, "That kid has got a death wish!"

Shadow turned with an enquiring look.

"The current in Green Hill River in the right place, is strong enough to rip your arms and legs off! If we want that Emerald we'd better fetch it double quick! I'll go-"

"CHAOS CONTROL!" There was a flash of blinding red light and the next moment Shadow was swimming in the river too!

Rouge shook her head, "why are all men so very _very_ stupid. One flap of my wings and the Chaos Emerald would be ours, but **no** Mr Ultimate Life Form just has to perform Chaos Control! Two wet freezing hedgehogs to take care of instead of one! NO DOUBT HE'LL CATCH A COLD TOO JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT!" She shouted across the river in a heated temper.

Shadow reached Amy just as the current pulled her under the water. It was at this point as the black and red hedgehog tried to swim towards the surface that he discovered she was weighed down, by a large stone tied with rope around her waist. He was astonished that Amy Rose would think to ever do such a thing to herself.

A dark arrow later the two hedgehogs shot up from the bottom of the river like corks and Shadow heaved Amy onto the river bank. He checked her breathing which was fine, but her teeth chattered and body shook with the cold.

"I mustn't…lose control." Amy whispered before she screwed up her face and burst into tears.

The girl was exhausted and Shadow had no idea what to do, she was mumbling words that he couldn't recognise. When Rouge arrived his teeth were chattering the water had been glacial.

The bat impatiently checked the female hedgehog's pockets and snorted with disgust.

"There's no emerald!" She snatched the device from Shadow's wrist and checked it twice before realising that the energy spikes weren't coming from another Chaos Emerald but from Amy herself. Rouge suddenly felt very confused, "_right_, plan B leave her and get out of here."

The black and red hedgehog shivered his white furred chest wet, sleek and shining. He picked up Amy balancing her on one shoulder and walked away clasping his own Chaos Emerald in his free hand. After walking for a few moments he could hear Rouge behind him, demanding to know where he was going and why he was taking the female hedgehog with him.

"Fine then, just bring her along!" Rouge growled not used to being ignored. "I'm warning you though that girl is going to be nothing but trouble for us, just you wait!"


	8. Have a Smashing Good Time!

Amy's Choice

Chapter Eight

Have a Smashing Good Time!

Back at the Club Rouge, the current owner, her drenched black hedgehog ally and their female cargo settled in the upstairs apartment. Whilst Shadow rubbed himself dry with a towel he kept a careful watch over Amy. Her wet clothes clung to her feminine frame and her pink spines drooped masking the girl's face. He could tell she was still fighting sleep, with her left hand she gripped the sofa like a vice. Small, determined breaths wheezed from her nose and her body convulsed with violent shakes.

Rouge came in carrying a thick blanket and a steaming cup of hot sweet tea. The bat placed the blanket on top of their guest.

Amy's eyes flew open and tore the blanket away.

"What the hell is your problem?" Rouge barked retrieving the blanket from the floor. She looked at the pink hedgehog, she was trying to stand up but slipped and collapsed back to the ground. Rouge offered the tea again Amy shook her head desperately backing away into a corner. Mint green eyes were bulging from their sockets trying to stay awake in vain.

"I'm too busy with the promotion tonight for this!" Rouge crossed her arms, "Do something about _her_ before I get back."

As the door slammed, Shadow got up slowly and hunched down next to Amy. He had to admit she'd seen better days - did Sonic know she was like this?

"I mustn't go to sleep." Amy protested, straining to get the words past her bumbling lips. "Help me please you can control chaos energy can't you? How do I stop it taking hold of me?"

Shadow wasn't prepared for that type of question from Amy Rose. Chaos energy and the ability to control it came as second nature to the ultimate life form. The Dark Arms blood within in him ensured that his mind and body could cope with the extreme power they contained. He never understood Sonic's involvement with the stones let alone Miss Rose, who to his knowledge had never used them nor turned into super form.

"Tell me everything." He said quietly.

Amy felt the overwhelming urge to confess as she looked into those ruby eyes, she told him everything. By the time the tale complete Shadow had lifted her back to the sofa and made her drink the sweet tea.

"Shadow, if I fall asleep I won't be able to stop her! What if she tries to hurt Sonic and the others? I could never forgive myself."

He told himself that the rescue and concern he showed towards Amy was nothing more than business. He suspected that although there was no Chaos Emerald to take, the power which the freedom fighter held was still valuable. If he could find a way to extract the chaos energy and store it he would have a very useful bartering tool for future use. If he could harness the energy and release Amy from her plight at the same time then it was a coincidental advantage for her.

"If what you say is true then I'll stop it." He said quite deliberately.

"No matter what it takes?" Amy gave him a searching look if push came to shove could he put an end to her suffering for good? Despite how Sonic and the others may react and the accusations of murder that could be made against him?

The device on Shadow's wrist was still flashing with the readings becoming stronger, as Amy's resistance grew weak the more intense the energy spikes became.

The black hedgehog realised he was going to need scientific assistance in order to complete the task he had set himself. He knew a scientist who resided in the Special Zone that might be able to help. This however, wasn't the only thing to consider it was also important to keep this information secret and away from the intelligence of his sponsor.

As she slipped away into the realm of dreams she could still sense his presence with her. He was sitting at the opposite end of the sofa watching her sleeping form deep in thought. He was unafraid, logical and calm it was exactly what she needed right now. With Shadow around perhaps her fears were unfounded, not as good as Sonic, but a good substitute until morning.

After two hours, Shadow glanced at the pink heart shaped clock on the wall, 11.00pm no doubt Rouge would still be at the club keeping the party goers entertained. He sat down at the treasure hunter's desk and moved the mouse next to the computer monitor. The wall paper showed a rare photograph of Knuckles the Echidna smiling it was blown up and stretched across the full length of the screen. Shadow rolled his eyes the bat still maintained that she had no crush on the Floating Island's guardian whatsoever.

He began to write a coded message to his acquaintance in the Special Zone, a scientist by the name of Doctor A. Jacobs.

_I have need of your expertise in an intriguing matter._

_The energy signature on the device provided by our sponsor has proved to have one significant fault. The device has indeed led myself and Agent Rouge to a powerful source of chaos energy. This particular source however, is that of a female hedgehog by the name of Miss Amy Rose. _

_In her own words she has told of her exposure to the Master Emerald the most concentrated source of chaos energy on Mobius. It was the chaos energy from Miss Rose that the device was reading not a second Chaos Emerald. I wish to extract the chaos energy from the subject to save and convert it - I believe that you have the necessary resources to make this possible._

_A prompt reply would be appreciated I would expect nothing less. _

_S. _

The message was sent just in time - instinctively the black and red hedgehog dived to the side away from the computer, which smashed into a million pieces. Smoke bellowed from the remains and through the grey screen Shadow could make out the outline of a spiky figure holding a mallet.

Downstairs Rouge sipped her bubbly champagne perched on a steel, black leather stool watching the clubbers on the dance floor. She particularly liked the strobe lights her DJ, Max (or Maxy to his friends) had created. His music was a mix of rock, pop, house, R and B and jazz. Rouge had connections which meant exclusives and some of the biggest names on the dance scene. Her club was the best club and she wanted to keep it that way.

"Hey, Rougie baby give us a smile!" Maxy boomed into the microphone, Rouge raised her champagne flute and winked. What Maxy didn't know was that she wasn't just a club owner but treasure hunter and secret agent combined too!

Looking after a club was exhausting it took up most weekends, aside from those reserved for opportunities too good to miss. Rouge paid high wages for her loyal staff that held the fort until she got back in these special cases. She'd thought long and hard about packing in the business but it was an invaluable source of income. If things got tight or slow on the secret agent front it guaranteed a roof over her head and food on the table. With Shadow to consider as well this was one string she wouldn't cut anytime soon.

The vibrations from the music felt particularly strong tonight she had acquired five new speakers or 'Mega Boomers' as they were called. Highly expensive but guaranteed to boost sound quality and sure enough the base of the current record was shaking the glasses on the bar. As Rouge gently pushed them back from the edge the vibrations became stronger still. The next minute Shadow the Hedgehog was sliding headlong across the bar, sending bottles and glasses flying everywhere.

"What the hell?" Rouge cried out as she saw him bruised, battered with bloody mattered fur.

He stood up glanced at the bat and said, "We have a slight problem, the building will need to be vacated."

"I'm not losing a night's takings on a whim!" Rouge protested stubbornly.

At that moment a loud shrieking laugh erupted across the dance floor, the music stopped dead leaving Maxy in a panic checking the jacks and leads of his equipment.

Angel strolled into the centre of the club twirling around a pole embedded in the floor and smiling at all the guest's mouths gaping open in confusion. She took out a shining silver mallet and leaned on it lazily taking in every ounce of the décor and furnishings of Club Rouge.

"This place is so tacky." The hedgehog smiled allowing her blood red eyes to linger on the furious owner.

"Then choose another venue sweetheart, I for one will _not_ miss you." Rouge replied with a quick tongue. It looked like Amy Rose, but her mannerisms and speech suggested otherwise. This was the personality of a more mature and older individual, someone that oozed confidence.

Angel grinned back took her mallet and smashed it straight into one of the Mega Boomers! A shower of golden sparks rained down on the crowd sending them into chaos.

She charged up three balls of chaos energy and threw them across the room towards the large crowd of Mobians. As the energy connected, bodies were thrown into the air like dolls and crashed into the walls. Some fell back down on top of the others crushing them, suddenly there was an explosion then screams of absolute terror filled the entire club. There was a stampede as the clubbers pushed and fled for the exits. Within seconds Club Rouge was completely empty, the only sound was Angel chuckling.

"Oh, I did enjoy that." She smirked at Rouge.

"Angel." Shadow confirmed.

Angel glanced at the hedgehog and blew him a kiss before proceeding to raise her mallet again to wreak more havoc. The speed with which she moved was like lightning, Rouge could only watch heartbroken as her club began to fall apart. The disco balls were cut from the ceiling and smashed into the solid oak floor panels, the bar was trashed, Maxy's equipment completely destroyed and even the club's neon sign was lifted and thrown like a giant frisbee into the centre of town!

Determined to save what was left of her livelihood the white bat launched into the air. To her frustration and anger none of Rouge's punches or kicks connected with their target. Each time she failed her punishment was to be sent crashing in the opposite direction. With severe wounds, a twisted ankle and suspected broken arm, Rouge admitted defeat and could only shout and swear at Angel.

Shadow tried his best to stop the madness but was completely unprepared for the power and tricks that Angel had up her sleeve. Once she discovered the black and red hedgehog had a Chaos Emerald in his possession, she relentlessly attacked and pursued him demanding the gem for herself. The battle between the two ensured Club Rouge's complete and utter destruction.

It was impossible, Shadow collapsed to the floor with Angel taking the red Chaos Emerald in her hands and giggling with delight.

"Thank you, Shadow." She whispered in his ear and kissed his cheek. Her attentions turned to Rouge, who for the first time in her life was genuinely worried about what was coming next. The bat tried to force her aching body to stand up but gasped as a sharp pain shot through her leg. Her weak leg muscles shook and quivered giving way beneath her. In her last attempt at defence Rouge spread her wings and snarled at Angel, again the laughter rang in her ears. Her enemy raised the silver mallet lined with small sharp spikes around the edges, preparing to beat the secret agent to a pulp.

"You're a sick bitch." Rouge hissed unable to break her gaze away from the deadly hammer. "You've trashed my club, taken the emerald and that's not good enough for you?"

Angel seemed to take her time and think about the question for a few moments.

"Hmm, no." She said finally, swinging her weapon of choice in a great arch above her head. She saw the fear and tears within Rouge's aqua eyes this was to be her end, the angel of death clearing the unworthy from the face of the entire planet.

Rouge braced herself for the pain and was surprised when it didn't come. She looked up at Angel whose face was growing redder and redder as she struggled to bring the mallet down.

"No…I…WON'T!" The defiant words rang out but not without great effort. "Rouge, run!"

"Amy?" Rouge whispered in disbelief, she could see the eyes of Angel flickering between red and green as the two wills fought against each other. The next she was thrown over Shadow's shoulder and the two made their escape.

Angel was furious at the interruption to her game and spat at the two escapees. Amy had managed to break through. This concerned the super form greatly she had expected total control without any resistance from her host. Now, as it turned out the goody two shoes Miss Rose, was willing to fight back to save her friends! The morality and selflessness sickened Angel, she couldn't bear it.

"Try that again, Amy and I swear I will track down and take out every last one of your little friends. I'm in charge now and don't you forget it."


	9. Amy's Predicament

Amy's Choice

Chapter Nine - Amy's Predicament 

Rage, an emotion Amy knew but rarely retained for long. Her tantrums in the past at her friends and losing her temper with Sonic was nothing compared to this. Such fierce uncontrollable rage erupted through her head. Amy groaned and pressed her hands firmly against her temples. The anger was amplified, fury and resentment caked the walls around her. This wasn't the anger of one person it was the combined mesh of thousands of ferocious voices, screams of revenge and desperate yearning. The throbbing in her head intensified it was the same jagged agony she had encountered after turning super. Her own heart ached and stomach tightened – what was Angel doing to her?

She forced herself to acknowledge that Rouge was still alive. That all Angel had done was not her fault and that things couldn't possibly get any worse. The monster had threatened to kill her friends one by one if she didn't comply. The kind hearted hedgehog felt violated and dirty. Her body was being used as a host to this 'thing' and a weapon against everyone she cared about.

Perhaps most disturbing of all was the way Amy could feel the emotions of Angel. When the super being was happy Amy felt an over whelming sense to be happy too. It was alien to be happy when faced with the destruction and death that Angel was bringing to Mobius. To see the fear of others as they ran screaming in terror and orange raging flames consuming homes and countryside - it was sickening. To sense even a small trickle of pleasure made the girl want to shrivel up and die.

Ever since Angel had managed to take the red Chaos Emerald from Shadow she felt terribly weak. If she wanted to stop Angel again she wasn't sure whether she would have the strength to attempt it. Nothing was clear in this place, wherever she was. Down was up and left was right, happiness meant sadness and fighting back was rewarded with pain. In this prison the sounds of Angel's laughter cut through her and the one person who could make this all go away was nowhere to be seen.

"_**Sonic, where are you?" **_

* * *

Meanwhile at a hot dog stand on the eastern quarter of Mobius our speedy blue friend eyed his first chilli dog of the morning. A warm white bun dusted with flour, one hot dog plump and juicy smothered with the hottest and spiciest chilli. The aroma was perfect, time for the chilli dog to meet his stomach… Sonic sighed, placed his breakfast back on the plate and checked his mobile phone. No text messages or missed calls – again. He looked at the chilli dog with guilt and then at the stand owner. 

"Women trouble the only thing to keep a man from his chilli dog, am I right?"

Sonic smiled briefly and pushed the plate away from him he was genuinely not hungry. He hadn't seen Rosy the rascal in days not through want of trying either. He had taken several jogs out his way to comb the zones she liked to hang out in. The flower fields of Green Hill were empty she wasn't having a picnic at Aqua Lake or shopping at the new multi complex in Spring Yard. Cream hadn't seen her and was quite upset at being abandoned by her best friend. It wasn't like Amy to just disappear no matter how much he had wished it in the past.

The phone vibrated and instantly Sonic's small ears pricked up.

"Amy?" He said hopefully.

"Sorry Sonic it's just me," Sonic's ears drooped slightly it was Tails. "I've seen something on TV you might want to have a look at and…there's some guests too."

Tails didn't mention the guest's names which Sonic found odd, who could visiting them now? He picked up the pace, spun his legs into a figure of eight and jetted off across the Emerald Hill Zone. He accelerated through the 360 degree loops scattered around the area it was time to find a new lead on Amy.

Back at freedom headquarters Sonic looked at the grass verges surrounding the base it was crowded from head to toe with reporters and video cameras! A banner with the logo for Mobian News was camped right outside the hidden front entrance. Sonic felt his throat tighten as a female blond haired squirrel with a microphone leaned her manicured hand casually against the red stone, which was the outer shell of freedom head quarters. He took the back entrance quickly and hissed savagely as he entered the living room.

"Tails, what is going on? Why are all those reporters outside?"

Rouge raised her glass of lemonade with a smirk resting her broken arm and leg on the blue sofa. Shadow too was sitting calmly on the sofa watching Tails the fox intently. Finally he turned his gaze to Sonic and the blue hedgehog could see his acquaintance's singed fur teamed with a bruised face. Sonic relaxed slightly the state they were in it didn't seem a fight was on the cards. This was all fine by him, but he still wanted to know why Mobian News was pitched outside the supposedly secret base!

"Little Miss Rose has landed herself in a whole heap of trouble," Rouge began without even waiting for Sonic to sit down. The hedgehog's nose instantly wrinkled he didn't like the sound of that one bit.

"A few days ago Amy used the Master Emerald to turn super to save your miserable hide, is that not so?" Sonic nodded reluctantly still waiting for the answer to his own question.

"And the reporters?"

"Shadow honey you'd best show our slow host the security tape …" Rouge instructed patting him gently on the arm. Shadow raised an eyebrow but took the tape and slotted it roughly into the console. "This is a tape taken from my precious jewel two days ago…"

"Does this have anything to do with Amy?" Sonic snapped impatiently, "and the reporters?"

"Watch and all will be revealed!" Rouge smiled briefly before slipping into an ugly frown. The four watched the video in silence everything from when Rouge first spotted the club's unwelcome guest and Shadow's fight, to Amy's brave struggle against Angel. The film footage could never capture Rouge's horror as she watched her hard work and source of revenue being crushed.

When the screen went black Sonic continued to gaze at it in silence the figure in the video, it looked like Amy, but was it really Amy? Had the power of the Master Emerald warped her mind?

"So, the reporters want to pin the blame on Amy and they wanted Sonic for an interview to see what he would say…" Tails mused to himself and clenched his fists. "That can't be Amy she wouldn't do something like that!"

"I agree. That girl would never take the life of another willingly I am a testimony to that. After all she did save my life…" Rouge looked to the young fox and her piercing aqua eyes grew softer for a few seconds.

"Angel is responsible," Shadow confirmed, "a powerful and lethal demon that possesses the negative energies of the Master Emerald. She has taken Amy captive in her own body."

Sonic played the tape again and pressed pause at a moment when Angel was at her worst. Her face was twisted into a snarl with red eyes burning. He tried to imagine the same hedgehog saving him from the Coloureds only days ago. The sweet, tender face holding him close and secure that had been Amy, this was some sort of monster. With Shadow on the floor unconscious she had taken the Chaos Emerald and absorbed it. Amy…he'd only just got his friend back after a coma, would Angel take her away from him?

"We need to get Amy out of there!" Sonic slammed the palm of his hand on top of the console.

"Now you just hold fire, take a good hard look at what she did to us! What she did to my club! You reckon you can just run in there and take Angel down? Ha! You are sadly mistaken and quite deluded, there is _nothing_ that can stop her and believe me sweetie, Shadow and I have tried."

"It'll take more than your usual cut and dash episode to save the girl, faker." Shadow proceeded to lean back against the wall with his dark eyelids closed thinking. "Rouge is correct in all detail but one…there is someone who can stop Angel."

"Who would that be?" Tails asked puzzled.

"Amy herself."


End file.
